A special annotated edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, which contains critical notes by scholars, has been flying from the shelves in Germany since its launch a year ago.

About 85,000 German-language copies of the book have been sold.

Publisher Andreas Wirsching, the director of the Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) in Munich, which came up with the idea for an annotated Mein Kampf, said that he was “overwhelmed” by the figures.

At the end of January the IfZ will launch a sixth print run.

The IfZ said the reprint had enriched a debate on the renewed rise of authoritarian political views in contemporary western society.

The two-volume work has appeared on Der Spiegel magazine’s non-fiction bestseller list over much of the last year, and even topped it for two weeks in April.

“It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler’s ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded,” Mr Wirsching, the director told the Guardian.

“To the contrary, the debate about Hitler’s world view and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and right-wing slogans are gaining ground.”